Was Azimpur Govt Girls' School principal really tied to a tree?
A photo of a woman tied to a tree went viral two days ago, with an Indian daily claiming she was Geetanjali Barua, principal of Azimpur Government Girls' School and College in Dhaka, who was forced to resign due to her religious background.
"Nearly 70 Hindu teachers from various schools and colleges have allegedly been forced to resign. These include Geetanjali Barua, Principal of Azimpur Government Girls School and College, who was tied to a tree by her students. The army had to intervene and rescue her," claimed the report, published by The New Indian Express on 21 August.
However, the school's official Facebook page and the principal herself have denied these claims.
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Geetanjali has temporarily stepped away from her duties while her resignation is still pending for approval. She clarified that her resignation was voluntary and driven by the students' demands, rather than any external pressure.
"No one needs to force me to resign. If my students no longer want me, I will step down," Geetanjali told The Business Standard.
"I was taken by surprise; there were no allegations against me. However, as the head of the institution, I was pressured to resign. As a result, I submitted my resignation request to the higher authorities," she added.
The woman in the viral photo was later identified as Nodi, a former student who is Muslim, not Geetanjali. This clarification disproves the claim of torture involving a Hindu teacher.
The spread of the false story has been attributed to social media accounts linked to Awami League sympathisers, such as Arifa Rahman Ruma and Bishwojit Bose.
On 14 July, students of Azimpur Government Girls' School and College presented a four-point demand. They called for the immediate removal of office assistant Sabuj Mia, chief assistant Mir Mostafizur Rahman, and lecturer Abdur Rahim due to their alleged involvement in corruption.
The students also demanded the cancellation of all contracts between the school and Md Shafiqul Islam, who is associated with former Dhaka South mayor Fazle Noor Taposh.
The principal forwarded these complaints to higher authorities and requested the resignation of the implicated individuals. However, the students issued a three-day ultimatum.
On 18 July, after the ultimatum expired, students returned to campus and clashed with some teachers. They demanded the resignation of three additional teachers—Shahnaz Akter, Gautam Chandra Paul, and Abdur Rahim—accusing them of question paper leaks, harassment, threats, involvement in coaching businesses, and insults.
The students pressured the principal for their dismissal, but instead of addressing these concerns, some teachers allegedly brought six outsiders who assaulted the students.
"The principal couldn't meet their demands, as it was beyond her authority," said Najnin Begum, the assistant head teacher. "The situation worsened when some teachers involved former students, which only fueled the students' anger and led them to demand the principal's resignation as well."
A student from the HSC 2024 batch said, "We did not mistreat the principal ma'am. The only people tied up were those whom ma'am brought in from outside to beat us."
Geetanjali denied these claims, saying, "I have no idea who those outsiders were, who called them, or why they came."
The students responded to the assault by tying up some of these outsiders until the Army arrived and took control. The army spoke with both students and teachers, and the accused teachers submitted their resignations. The Army then took custody of four teachers and six outsiders.
"Initially, we did not ask for Geetanjali ma'am's resignation. However, on the day of the incident, when outsiders were brought in to beat the students, ma'am knew about it but didn't intervene," said another student.
"Ma'am also gave a week off to Sabuj and Mostafizur, who we initially wanted to be removed. Since she was involved in the situation, we then demanded her resignation as well. Additionally, ma'am's behaviour was poor; she spoke rudely to everyone," added Laboni Akter, a second-year college student.
